Seeing Snow Birds in my home town with dirty crosses on their foreheads reminded me of my first Ash Wednesday experience.

Last year, I was in Manhattan on Ash Wednesday. As a native Floridian, I was somehow completely unaware that a LOT of people actually walk around with black crosses on their FOREHEADS - like it's totally normal - until I set out on my morning walk to work in mid-town.

I couldn't help myself, and I stared... squinting my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating as I noticed, at first dozens - then hundreds, of people walking around with these CRAZY dirty marks on their foreheads.

A year later, I'm still shaking my head as I recall working that day with people in my office on 5th Avenue - in Gotham - the apex of civilization in the modern world - looking me square in the eye - as if nothing was extraordinary about having this intentional smudge on their heads.

Can you imagine?? Sitting around a conference room table, talking about the technicalities of some computer system while half a dozen people look back at you with the equivalent of a dollop of mustard drying their hair?

It was like being in the middle of an elaborate prank.

Just thought I would share.

I asked on of those dirty chicks here yesterday if the ashes were made from cremated aborted fetuses. Her mouth flapped open and shut for a bit like the fish she'll be eating on Friday.

DC: "Are you serious?"
Me: "Yes."

She walked away shaking her head sadly. Like I was the crazy one.

Kate:

"I asked on of those dirty chicks here yesterday if the ashes were made from cremated aborted fetuses. Her mouth flapped open and shut for a bit like the fish she'll be eating on Friday.

DC: "Are you serious?"
Me: "Yes."

She walked away shaking her head sadly. Like I was the crazy one."

That's classic - like "Wednesday Adams" classic when she asked the girlscouts if girlscout cookies are made with real girlscout.

What brought upon this bought of Wednesday-ism? was it the fact that it was, after all, ash wednesday? :)

My friend went to her usual Catholic services yesterday and they got the ash treatment. Then the priest advised them to wipe it off before they left church because of the admonishment in the NT to worship in secret.

It's an odd ritual, to be sure, but no stranger than eating a cracker and drinking some wine and pretending that it changes into the body and blood of the savior god provided the correct mumbo-jumbo is spoken.

Yeah, when I was a kid I thought it was gross to eat the body and blood of christ. It's still an oddly barbaric thing for parents and pastors to force kids to do.

Ever ask a catholic what the ashes are for? Most can't tell you. Only thing I've been able to determine is that ashes used to symbolize mourning and sadness. As usual, I know more about christianity than most christians I encounter.

Now THAT'S funny!

Kate, my compliments.

Thank you, thank you :D

Actually, though I never intended to get involved in these forums, the sheer ugliness of Kate's aborted babies remark must not go unreproved.

CAVkiller37: I assure you, you do not know more than most Christians you encounter. But since you all tell each other how much more intelligent and logical you are, than we, I don't blame you for your thesis.

Ashes are a universal sign of mourning. They are imposed on Ash Wednesday by ancient (early 8th century) custom with the admonition: "Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." Good advice for atheists and theists, alike.

And Kate, just for you: The ashes used are those that remain when the palms from the previous Palm Sunday were burned and blessed for use on Ash Wednesday.

So?

Alrighty then... do you know where Christianity got it's ritual for that whole wine and cracker, body of Christ thing?

I bet you don't....... (hint: it was folded into Christianity from another popular prophet of the times - do you remember his name?)

I bet I know more about Christianity than you do... seriously.

Like... did you know that there was NEVER - EVER anyone named Jesus Christ ('cuz that would be stupid and blasphemous... like literally naming your kid 'Son of God')?

Or... did you know that not only was Jesus born of virgin birth, but so was his mother, Mary? Seriously.... it's in the Qur'an.

Ok - what you got?

I almost always know more about christianity than christians i meet. Listen lady, don't tell me what i do and don't know. what are you basing this assurance on anyway?

I realize that i may not know more than all christians (about the faith) and i realize that my sampling pool might be biased, which is why i qualified the statement with "that I encounter."

And by the way, ashes of aborted fetuses aren't much chemically different than those of palm fronds.

:lol: I actually thought, for just a moment, that you might have something I could sink me teeth into. When will I ever learn??

Can you possibly believe that there is a single one of us who doesn't know that Christ is a title?

Yes, I do know where the Eucharistic elements come from. I am quite sure after reading this post that you don't. This pretty much ensures that you were going to trot out Mithras again, weren't you?

I don't care what the Koran has to say about any subject under the sun.

It would save time if you would stipulate, just for the sake of argument, that I have an advanced degree in Medieval Studies with an emphasis on theology/philosophy and literature, which I do. You really don't know as much as I do.

Kate So? I just thought you would like to know, so that you could sound like an informed person instead of a vulgar teenager.

Aw Lily, stick around. We need some thoughtful theists to play with. Salty and ShadowWolf are fine as objects of scorn and derision, but do you really want them defending the faith? I didn't think so!

I never thought of Ash Wednesday as a day of mourning but as a reminder: all things must die. It was a ritual I appreciated long after I stopped believing in god. (You're right: good for atheists and theists alike)

Seriously, cruise the forums a bit and ignore the nastiness if you must. Welcome and stick around!

Sound like an informed person? You mean like understanding that a ridiculous comment was intended as a joke? Guess that part becomes harder when you hear, and are expected to take literally, things like "that cracker is the flesh of a man who died two thousand years ago" or "God made the world in six days " or "God is all-powerful and all-knowing".

I have noticed that christianms often pretend that they don't realize that something was intended as a joke so they can attack it. It must be one of the tricks they have to learn to counteract the blatant fact that none of their arguments can stand up to any kind of logical scrutiny.

Lily,.fuck off you scabby troutface. It''s bad enough that you are allowed to contaminate the front page with your insane gibberish. We don't need it here as well. Now, if you would like to talk about renouncing Christ and becoming a stripper in a west vagina mining town, that's a story we can all enjoy.